His road to basketball – from rejection to achievement

This might come as a surprise to most – Peter Soo, a promising basketballer, was once rejected by his school’s basketball team.

“I was first rejected by the coach to join the school’s basketball team as I had never played it before,” Peter recalled. But, Peter did not let the rejection impede his journey to becoming a basketball player.

“Don’t wait for opportunities, find them” – this is the principle that the 22-year-old athlete lives by.

Shared Peter as he recalled his younger days: “If not for this advice, I would not have dared to start basketball in secondary school.”

A decade of basketball training nurtured not just a competent sportsman but also a young man of good core values.

“Through basketball, I have learnt a lot about perseverance, determination and teamwork,” Peter said.

“All the grinding and losing during trainings and competitions have built me up to be a mentally stronger person. It has also taught me that hard work pays off and it comes before success.

Working as a team, I had to adopt the culture of having team spirit. I have also learnt how to work and communicate with different kinds of people,” Peter shared.

The 22-year-old is currently an undergraduate majoring in business management at Singapore Management University. Come July, Peter will make his debut at the 18th ASEAN University Games. It may be his first time competing at the ASEAN University Games, but definitely not his first time competing in large-scale competitions. Last year, Peter represented Singapore at the FIBA Asia Championship.

When asked about the difficulties of being a student athlete, Peter admitted that it has not been easy having his plate full. Buckling under pressure, Peter withdrew from the national team to focus on his university studies and helped lead SMU basketball to attain greater heights by clinching the 2nd runner-up position in the 2015 Singapore University Games.

The 22-year-old athlete also gladly shared that his greatest competitor is none other than himself.

“Although some of our competitors may stand a physical advantage, I would say we would often need to overcome our mental barrier before we could give our best,” he said.

Come watch the exciting courtside action as Peter and his team compete at the 18th ASEAN University Games this July!